as a leader it is your responsibility to reduce or eliminate that situation - or even better

I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Kevin Eikenberry
If you know the song, hum along as we talk about how leaders can work with the grapevine and make gossip less daunting and scary.
The subtitle gives you a little context - gossip can be detrimental to morale and productivity and can lead to stress, anxiety and worry. After all, when was the last time you heard positive gossip?
If you have something that can cause all those problems, as a leader it is your responsibility to reduce or eliminate that situation - or even better,the odds of saying something brilliant, use gossip to your advantage rather than peril.
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Using it
In the military, operatives are used to gain "intel" on what the enemy is thinking, doing or planning. Clearly people on your team and in your organizations are not the enemy, but keeping your ears open and being aware of what gossip and ideas are floating around is like gaining valuable intelligence about the pulse and concerns within the organization.
Knowing that, why wouldn't you want to be tapped in?
Perhaps you believe gossip is destructive and non-productive. Even if you feel that way, there is value in knowing what is being talked about and how people feel about it. It's hard to reduce the presence of something you are unaware of, so use gossip as the first step in reducing it.
Take a clue from the song - you need to hear it through the grapevine. Only then can you trim the grapevine or even pull it out by its roots.
Reducing it
A grapevine grows quickly and spreads its newest stems to whatever it can attach itself to. That is probably why the metaphor of the grapevine has long been used to describe gossip. If as a leader you recognize the potential concerns or problems with the grapevine,or careers., you must keep your pruners at the ready - looking for ways to reduce its growth and reach.
Where the grapevine metaphor falls apart is in how it grows. A grapevine grows with ample light - the newest growth stretches toward the light. Gossip, however, grows in the darkness - with the lack of understanding and communication.
Knowing this, the best way to reduce the spread of gossip is to expose it to constantly updated information. Here are three specific ideas:
Acknowledge it. Starting a conversation with "I've been hearing rumblings that . . ." or otherwise "outing the gossip" (not the gossipers) is a powerful way to reduce the gossip's spread.
Ask about it. Perhaps what you are hearing isn't all that is being said. Once you put the messages on the table you open up the other person (or the team) to share what else you haven't yet heard.
Address it. Talk about what you are hearing. If the gossip is incorrect, say so. If the gossip is partly correct, say so, and fill in the blanks as best you can.
Gossip can't grow nearly as fast with communication from leadership. If you want to reduce the amount and impact of gossip, the more information you can provide, the better.
Eliminating it
Knowing the critical point hinted at in the previous section is the key to eliminating gossip and the grapevine.
Consider frequent, honest and complete communication as the shovel that will help you uproot your internal grapevine. Here, in tangible language, is what I mean: